REU Site: Interdisciplinary Training in the Learning Sciences

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This REU site will train undergraduate students in the learning sciences, an interdisciplinary field that aims to translate knowledge on the science of learning into educational practice. Training in an interdisciplinary research context provides a unique opportunity to learn about complementary perspectives and approaches to address scientific challenges to understanding human learning and how to facilitate it in educational contexts. The site is housed within a large interdisciplinary center that brings together multiple disciplinary fields, including psychology, computer science, artificial intelligence, and education, with the ultimate goal of translating scientific knowledge into educational practice and advancing learning technologies. This REU will provide formative opportunities to gain direct experience alongside faculty experts conducting leading-edge learning research in an interdisciplinary environment. REU students will work alongside faculty, research staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows to identify and co-create research projects. They will generate their own research questions, develop hypotheses, conduct coding and data analytics, interpret data, and disseminate and present the findings at a research symposium. This work will be scaffolded through training activities, including learning science and professional development workshops, and meetings with the co-directors, lab group, primary faculty mentor, and external mentors. Our strengths-based training program is based on the cognitive apprenticeship model of science and scholarship and community mentorship. Students will participate in a series of workshops that provide an overview of the theoretical frameworks and approaches of the learning sciences and professional development seminars to support the students' educational and career trajectories. This REU will establish a community of practice aimed at fostering innovation and advancing discoveries in the learning sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.